Ramadan 2016: Delicious and healthy Iftar recipes

Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief.

The fast (sawm) begins at dawn and ends at sunset each day, so Muslims will not eat or drink during daylight hours.

This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

And, with Ramadan 2016 just starting, we have a few healthy and balanced meals the NHS have recommended to eat throughout the month.

They all sound delicious but if they don't tickle your taste buds don't worry we have some appetizers, main courses, and, of course (our favourite meal of the day), desserts, ready for you to cook at home.

Appetizers

Paneer Bread Rolls

Ingredients

Bread - 6 pieces

Paneer (crumbled) - 150 grams

Capsicum (finely chopped) - 1/4 cup

Green peas - 1/4 cup

Green coriander (finely chopped) - 2 to 3 tbsp

Ginger - 1 tsp paste

Green chilly (finely chopped) - 2

Chaat masala - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Oil - for frying

Directions

For full instructions on how to cook Paneer Bread Rolls, not to mention plenty of other tasty recipes, visit Indian Express now.

Veggie Spring Rolls

Ingredients

Carrots (peeled and julienned) - 1

Red capsicum (cut into thin strips) - 1

Shelled peas (boiled) - 1/4 cup

Spring onion (chopped) - 1/4 cup

Noodles - 100g

Oil - 2 tbsp

Chowmein seasoning - 5 tsps

Thai rice paper sheets - 8

Salt

Directions

For full instructions on how to cook Steamed Veggie Spring Rolls, not to mention plenty more delicious Iftar recipes, visit Indian Express now.

Adas Rishta

Ingredients

Macaroni pasta - ½ cup

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Medium onion (chopped) - 1

Garlic cloves (finely chopped) - 4

Dried green lentils (washed well) - 1 cup

Water - 6 cups

Maggi chicken less salt stock bouillon cube - 3 cups

Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 cup

Directions

Want to know how to cook this yummy meal? Visit Nestle Family now.

Baked potatoes with shrimps

Ingredients

Medium potatoes - 12

Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp

Medium onion (finely chopped) - 1

Mushrooms (sliced) - 1½ cups

Small shrimps (peeled) - 750 g

Fresh milk - 1½ cups

Maggi Chicken Stock Bouillon Cube - 2 cubes

Fresh dill (finely chopped) - ½ cup

Ground black pepper - ½ tsp

Corn flour (diluted in 2 tablespoons of water) - 1½ tbsp

Directions

Fancy trying this one for yourself? Click through to Nestle Family to learn how to make it.

Mudardara/Mujaddara

Ingredients

Water - 6 cups

Green lentil (washed and drained) - 2¼ cups

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Medium onion (sliced) - 1

MAGGI vegetable stock - 2 cubes

American rice (soaked for one hour and drained) - 1 cup

Ground cumin - 1 tsp

Ground cinnamon - ½ tsp

Directions

Learn how to make it here.

Potato and Rice Kibbeh

Ingredients

Basmati rice (washed) - 2 cups

Water - 3 cups

MAGGI white rice seasoning - 2 cubes

Medium potatoes (boiled and peeled) - 2

For the stuffing:

Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp

Medium onions (chopped) - 2

Minced lamb - ½ kg

Curry powder - 1 tbsp

MAGGI mutton stock (crumbled) - 2 cubes

Pine seeds (toasted) - 3 tbsp

Raisins - 2 tbsp

Fresh dill (freshly dill) - 1/4 cup

Vegetable oil (for deep frying) - 2 cups

Directions

Click here to learn how to make it.

Savory Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients

Zucchinis (skinned and grated) - 3

Garlic cloves (minced) - 2

White onion (minced) - 1/3

Egg - 1

Cup flour - ¾

Parmesan cheese - 1 tbsp

Fresh parsley - 2 tbsp

Grapeseed oil (for frying)

Directions

Get the full instructions for this recipe, and plenty more, over at My Halal Kitchen.

Eggplant topped with Garlic Yogurt

Ingredients

Medium eggplants - 4

Oil (for deep frying) - 3 cups

Water - 1 cup

MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube (dissolved in 1 cup of water) - 1 cube

Pinch of salt

Pinch of ground pepper

Yogurt - ½ cup

Milk powder - 3 tbsp

Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2

Onion (cut into thin slices and fried)- 50 g

Directions

Learn how to make it here.

Mains

Here are our recommendations for your main meal:

Mansaf

Ingredients

Lamb shoulder meat (cut into large pieces) - 1 kg

Water - 4 cups

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Medium onions (chopped) - 2

MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 1 cube

Ground black pepper - ¾ tsp

Sweet pepper - ¾ tsp

Ground cumin - ¾ tsp

Ground coriander - ¾ tsp

Ground cloves - ¾ tsp

Cinnamon stick - 1

Pine seeds (toasted) - ½ cup

Almonds (toasted) - ½ cup

Fresh parsley (chopped) - 3 tbsp

For the yoghurt sauce:

Yogurt - 2½ cups

Corn flour - 1½ tbsp

Directions

Click here to learn how to cook it.

Samak Eish

Ingredients

Vegetable oil (for frying) - 2 cups

Hammour (cleaned and cut into 4 pieces) - 1500g

Medium onion (diced) - 1

Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2

Small green chili pepper (chopped) - 1

Dried limes (cut into halves) - 2

Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 tbsp

Ground cardamom - ½ tsp

Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp

MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes

Medium tomato (peeled and diced) - 1

Tomato paste - 4 tbsp

Water - 4½ cups

Basmati rice - 2½ cups

Directions

Learn how to make this delicious recipe here.

Linguini with Prawns and Almond Pesto

Ingredients

For the grilled prawns:

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Lemon juice - 3 tbsp

Ground cumin - ½ tsp

Sea salt - 2 tsp

Tiger prawns (shells removed and deveined) - 750g

For the almond pesto:

Almond powder - ½ cup

Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2

Medium green chili pepper - 1

Extra virgin olive oil - ½ cup

Fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped) - 4 tbsp

Fresh parsley (roughly chopped) - 4 tbsp

Fresh mint - 7 leaves

Medium tomatoes (peeled, de-seeded and diced) - 2

Linguini pasta/thick pasta - 1 packet

Water - 8 cups

Hot water - ½ cup

MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes

Directions

Click here to learn how to cook it.

Tortellini with Spinach Cream Sauce

Ingredients

Butter - 1 tbsp

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Shallots (finely chopped) - 3 medium

Cloves garlic (finely chopped) - 3

Water - ½ cup

MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes

Cream - 2 cups

Baby spinach leaves (fresh)- 400g

Black pepper (cracked and fresh) - ½ tsp

Ground nutmeg - ½ tsp

Parmesan cheese - ¼ cup

Cheese tortellini (fresh or frozen) - 450 g

Water - 8 cups

Roquefort cheese - ½ cup

Directions

Click here to learn how to cook this recipe.

Veal Parmesan

Ingredients

For the sauce:

Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Medium onion (chopped) - 1

Garlic (finely chopped) - 3 cloves

Tomato paste - 1 tbsp

Water - ½ cup

MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes

Medium sized tomatoes (chopped) - 8

Dried basil - 1 tsp

Dried rosemary - 1 tsp

For the veal cutlets:

Veal, escalope (cutlers) flattened - 400 g

Breadcrumbs (fresh) - 1 cup

Parmesan cheese - 1 cup

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Eggs (well beaten) - 2

Vegetable oil (for frying) - 3 tbsp

Spaghetti - 1 packet

Water - 6 cups

Mozzarella cheese - 1½ cups

Fresh parsley (finely chopped) - 2 tbsp

Directions

Learn how to cook it here.

Plantain Shallow Fry

Ingredients

Plantain/Raw banana/Kaccha kela - 1

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds/Jerra - ½ tsp

Mustard seeds/Rai - ½ tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander seeds powder/Dhaniya - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder/Haldi - ½ tsp

Salt/Namek - ½ tsp

Directions

Love the sound of this one? Visit Indian Khana to learn how to cook it.

Shish Barak with Yogurt

Ingredients

Yoghurt - 6 cups

Egg yolk (beaten) - 1

Water - ½ cup

Corn flour (dissolved in the egg yolk and water) - 2 tbsp

Cloves garlic (crushed) - 2

Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - ½ cups

MAGGI chicken stock bouillon cube - 2 cubes

White ground pepper - ½ tsp

Ready-made shish barak - 500 g

Directions

Learn how to cook it here.

Desserts

And here are a few desserts we think you might want to try.

Dry Fig Dates and Nuts Roll

Ingredients

Dry figs - 20 pieces

Dates - 1½ cups

Walnut - 1/3 cups

Almond - 1/3 cups

Cashew nuts - 1/3 cup

Nutmeg powder - ½ tsp

Desiccate coconut - ¾ cup

Water - 1 cup

Silver varq

Directions

Click here to learn how to cook it.

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

Nestle Sweetened Condensed milk - 1 tin

Butter (melted) - 100g

Water - 225ml

Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

Plain flour - 200g

Eggs - 2

Egg yolk - 1

Cocoa powder - 1 cup

Baking powder - 1 tbsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Salt - ¼ tsp

Yoghurt - 1 tbsp

For the icing:

Butter - 2 tbsp

Cocoa powder - 4 tbsp

Icing sugar - ¾ cup

Boiling water - 1½ tbsp

Directions

Click here to learn how to make it.

Mohallabiah Strawberries Cake

Ingredients

For the base:

Digestive biscuits (crumbled) - 2½ cups

Butter - ½ cup

For the filling:

Nestle sweetened condense milk - 1 tin

Water - 2 cups

Corn flour - ½ cup

Blossom water - 1 tbsp

Strawberries (trimmed, washed and cut into halves) - 500 g

Strawberry jam - 5 tbsp

Directions

Click here to learn how to cook it.

Watermelon milkshake

Ingredients

Nestle sweetened condensed milk - 1 tin

Watermelon (chilled, cut into cubes and with the seeds removed) - 750 g

Vanilla powder - 1 tsp

Ice cubes - 3

Directions

Learn how to cook it here.

And if you're pregnant here is everything you need to know about fasting during your pregnancy.

Let us know what you plan on eating during Ramadan on our Twitter or Facebook (@CloserOnline) page.